1
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Previously on The Book of Negroes...

2
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May! May! No!

3
00:00:05,928 --> 00:00:09,097
- May!
- She only fetched five pounds.

4
00:00:09,131 --> 00:00:11,900
Lindo helped Appleby sell our
May to a family in Savannah.

5
00:00:11,934 --> 00:00:14,802
Is May alive?

6
00:00:14,837 --> 00:00:17,372
The pox got her.

7
00:00:17,406 --> 00:00:20,708
Good men, who believe the slave trade
to be evil, now wish to create a colony

8
00:00:20,743 --> 00:00:23,110
of free Negroes in Africa.

9
00:00:23,144 --> 00:00:26,213
And I for one have decided to join them.

10
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Let's go home.

11
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- synced and corrected by chamallow -
- www.addic7ed.com -

12
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On January 15th, 1792, our
fifteen ships lifted anchor

13
00:00:51,471 --> 00:00:53,972
and set sail for Sierra Leone.

14
00:00:55,975 --> 00:00:57,875
One out of every three

15
00:00:57,909 --> 00:01:00,778
men and women had, like
me, been born in Africa.

16
00:01:00,812 --> 00:01:05,350
Including children, there were 1,200 of us.

17
00:01:05,384 --> 00:01:07,385
There it is!

18
00:01:09,355 --> 00:01:11,322
There it is!

19
00:01:11,357 --> 00:01:14,157
There it is! Do you see it?

20
00:01:14,192 --> 00:01:16,226
From my childhood,

21
00:01:16,260 --> 00:01:20,330
I remembered the profile
of the lion's back and head.

22
00:01:20,365 --> 00:01:23,467
Until the coast with the lion
shape came into sight, I doubted

23
00:01:23,502 --> 00:01:27,270
that I would truly return
to the place of my departure.

24
00:02:21,591 --> 00:02:24,426
We shall call our new colony... Freetown.

25
00:02:29,933 --> 00:02:33,669
These men have come from
London for our protection.

26
00:02:33,703 --> 00:02:36,004
Please do not leave

27
00:02:36,038 --> 00:02:39,540
the confines of our settlement.
Outside, the company cannot protect you

28
00:02:39,575 --> 00:02:42,277
from enslavers or
potentially hostile Africans.

29
00:02:42,311 --> 00:02:44,779
Can we not govern our own fates?

30
00:02:44,813 --> 00:02:46,982
Eventually, yes, of course.

31
00:02:47,016 --> 00:02:49,351
But the company has spent a fortune

32
00:02:49,385 --> 00:02:51,652
to bring you here and they intend

33
00:02:51,687 --> 00:02:53,754
to govern this colony
to ensure its success.

34
00:02:57,659 --> 00:03:00,227
Brothers... brothers!

35
00:03:00,261 --> 00:03:02,663
Sisters, please.

36
00:03:02,698 --> 00:03:05,332
This is not the time to argue.

37
00:03:05,367 --> 00:03:07,334
Now, you have eyes,

38
00:03:07,369 --> 00:03:09,569
you help me see.

39
00:03:09,604 --> 00:03:12,772
Can you see 500 homes already built

40
00:03:12,807 --> 00:03:15,242
to rest our weary bones?

41
00:03:15,276 --> 00:03:17,444
Can you see a place of worship?

42
00:03:17,479 --> 00:03:19,446
Do you have a system

43
00:03:19,481 --> 00:03:22,383
in which we can gather food

44
00:03:22,417 --> 00:03:24,385
and hunted prey,

45
00:03:24,419 --> 00:03:26,586
and share together?

46
00:03:28,288 --> 00:03:30,256
Huh?

47
00:03:30,290 --> 00:03:32,358
- Okay, Daddy Moses.
- Yes.

48
00:03:32,393 --> 00:03:35,395
Let's build!

49
00:03:38,232 --> 00:03:40,400
The Englishmen left on their
ships and we, the Nova Scotians,

50
00:03:40,434 --> 00:03:42,402
had nothing but tents for shelter.

51
00:03:42,436 --> 00:03:46,205
So we built Freetown from scratch,

52
00:03:46,240 --> 00:03:50,543
starting with a church,
a school, and houses.

53
00:03:53,847 --> 00:03:57,616
As I traded with the Temne
and learned their language,

54
00:03:57,651 --> 00:04:00,986
I dreamed only of my
first home, and I planned

55
00:04:01,021 --> 00:04:03,822
my overland journey,
walking three revolutions

56
00:04:03,857 --> 00:04:08,126
of the moon to reach my native village.

57
00:04:22,341 --> 00:04:26,144
Here. Here, drink this.

58
00:04:29,615 --> 00:04:31,583
Don't give up.

59
00:04:31,617 --> 00:04:35,319
Don't give up. Don't
give up. Don't give up!

60
00:04:35,353 --> 00:04:37,589
Don't give up! Don't give up!

61
00:04:37,623 --> 00:04:39,591
Don't give up!

62
00:04:39,625 --> 00:04:42,694
- What is happening?
- They are marching slaves

63
00:04:42,728 --> 00:04:45,129
- to the ocean!
- Where's Clarkson when we need him?

64
00:04:45,163 --> 00:04:46,764
He's away on a scout inland.

65
00:04:46,799 --> 00:04:50,601
Hey! Quick.

66
00:04:50,635 --> 00:04:53,014
- Lead me to them.
- What?

67
00:04:53,015 --> 00:04:54,015
Lead me to them, quick!

68
00:04:54,172 --> 00:04:58,242
Come, they are taking
them! They are taking them!

69
00:04:58,276 --> 00:05:00,978
You free these people
now! Free these people!

70
00:05:02,647 --> 00:05:05,616
- Chekura, no!
- You free them, just like us!

71
00:05:05,650 --> 00:05:08,051
Chekura!

72
00:05:08,166 --> 00:05:12,703
I'm king of these people.
Please release this man.

73
00:05:14,839 --> 00:05:17,874
Come!

74
00:05:19,877 --> 00:05:23,513
- Everyone, step back so no one gets hurt.
- Mr. Park, no!

75
00:05:23,547 --> 00:05:26,583
- We have to let them through.
- We will not let them take these captives!

76
00:05:26,617 --> 00:05:28,784
We will not leave,

77
00:05:28,819 --> 00:05:30,986
- and they are not taking them!
- Step back!

78
00:05:31,021 --> 00:05:33,030
You cannot save the slaves.

79
00:05:33,031 --> 00:05:34,811
- No!
- Quiet!

80
00:05:36,760 --> 00:05:38,728
Quiet!

81
00:05:38,762 --> 00:05:40,830
Stay away.

82
00:05:40,864 --> 00:05:42,932
You have to have faith.

83
00:06:20,269 --> 00:06:22,237
Hey!

84
00:06:26,908 --> 00:06:28,876
Stay back!

85
00:06:28,910 --> 00:06:30,978
Stay back!

86
00:06:45,293 --> 00:06:48,662
You led us to freedom, Daddy Moses!

87
00:06:50,832 --> 00:06:52,933
You led us to Africa.

88
00:06:52,967 --> 00:06:56,203
No!

89
00:07:25,498 --> 00:07:29,001
Miss Diallo, I am so sorry for your loss.

90
00:07:29,036 --> 00:07:31,670
Thank you, Dr. Falconbridge.

91
00:07:31,705 --> 00:07:35,006
- Oh, you know me then!
- Captain Clarkson told me about you.

92
00:07:35,041 --> 00:07:37,909
Captain Clarkson, the last decent toubab.

93
00:07:37,944 --> 00:07:40,227
He mentioned you were once
involved in the slave trade.

94
00:07:40,228 --> 00:07:40,778
Yeah...

95
00:07:40,814 --> 00:07:43,114
- But that you later denounced it.
- Yes.

96
00:07:43,149 --> 00:07:46,352
I'm told you wish to find your way home.

97
00:07:48,621 --> 00:07:50,588
Yes.

98
00:07:50,622 --> 00:07:54,259
Yes, I want to find an African
to take me inland to my village.

99
00:07:54,293 --> 00:07:56,794
- I can help.
- I don't want us to go.

100
00:07:56,829 --> 00:08:00,531
- It's too dangerous.
- We must.

101
00:08:00,566 --> 00:08:03,335
It's our only chance to get home.

102
00:08:03,369 --> 00:08:06,471
Why must you always make me chase
you? We can love each other right here!

103
00:08:06,505 --> 00:08:09,507
We could've been killed a thousand times!

104
00:08:09,621 --> 00:08:11,823
Someone took us here,

105
00:08:11,857 --> 00:08:15,125
- now someone can take us back.
- I took you here.

106
00:08:17,195 --> 00:08:19,396
I took you here.

107
00:08:42,620 --> 00:08:45,188
Thank you.

108
00:08:45,522 --> 00:08:47,491
Armstrong, old boy!

109
00:08:47,525 --> 00:08:50,426
This is the woman I
sent you a message about.

110
00:08:50,461 --> 00:08:53,463
William Armstrong.

111
00:08:53,498 --> 00:08:55,465
Aminata Diallo.

112
00:08:55,499 --> 00:08:57,500
Falconbridge, a round
of golf for a few minutes

113
00:08:57,534 --> 00:09:00,336
before we sit down to eat.

114
00:09:04,108 --> 00:09:07,310
Right...

115
00:09:30,166 --> 00:09:33,502
Falconbridge tells me that,
as a child, you were taken

116
00:09:33,536 --> 00:09:36,204
- from a village far inland.
- Yes, it's true.

117
00:09:36,239 --> 00:09:39,007
How do you know you were shipped from here?

118
00:09:39,042 --> 00:09:42,477
I remember the golf.

119
00:09:42,512 --> 00:09:45,580
You may find your home destroyed.

120
00:09:45,614 --> 00:09:49,383
The houses of slaves were pulled from the
interior, whole communities were sacked.

121
00:09:49,418 --> 00:09:51,920
I have to find out for myself.

122
00:09:51,954 --> 00:09:55,590
I have a barrel of rum to trade.

123
00:09:55,624 --> 00:09:58,927
That's a fair price, but
I'm afraid I cannot help you.

124
00:10:03,631 --> 00:10:05,799
Why do you trade in men?

125
00:10:05,833 --> 00:10:09,836
It's all I know. I love
Africa. Everybody's doing it,

126
00:10:09,871 --> 00:10:11,341
the British, the French, the Americans.

127
00:10:11,342 --> 00:10:12,940
Even the bloody Africans have been mixed up

128
00:10:12,941 --> 00:10:15,876
in the trade, and for an eternity, too.

129
00:10:15,910 --> 00:10:18,712
Was it really that bad for you?

130
00:10:18,746 --> 00:10:22,515
You're a picture of health,
comfortable clothes, food in your belly.

131
00:10:22,550 --> 00:10:26,687
We feed our captives here.

132
00:10:26,721 --> 00:10:29,355
There's no point in starving our
product. It must produce a profit.

133
00:10:29,390 --> 00:10:32,492
I'm sick and tired of hearing
London abolitionists claiming

134
00:10:32,526 --> 00:10:34,827
that we brand our captives.
I've never seen such a thing.

135
00:10:34,861 --> 00:10:38,431
Would you turn around for a moment, please?

136
00:10:38,466 --> 00:10:41,134
Turn around.

137
00:10:53,480 --> 00:10:56,115
You can turn back now.

138
00:10:58,752 --> 00:11:01,286
It's the mark I was branded with

139
00:11:01,321 --> 00:11:04,590
out back in your slave pen...

140
00:11:04,625 --> 00:11:08,127
when I was eleven years old.

141
00:11:08,161 --> 00:11:10,429
It's a 'G'

142
00:11:10,463 --> 00:11:13,132
and an 'O'.

143
00:11:13,166 --> 00:11:15,267
I never knew what that meant.

144
00:11:15,301 --> 00:11:17,969
Grant Oswald,

145
00:11:18,004 --> 00:11:21,173
the company that runs Bance
Island. Oswald is a Scotsman.

146
00:11:24,977 --> 00:11:27,879
You have no idea

147
00:11:27,913 --> 00:11:30,281
the thousands of horrors

148
00:11:30,315 --> 00:11:33,251
awaiting your captives.

149
00:11:35,721 --> 00:11:38,757
I shall see to it that you want
for nothing on your journey inland.

150
00:11:38,791 --> 00:11:41,626
Tomorrow, you may meet the traders.

151
00:11:54,606 --> 00:11:57,240
Why should I negotiate good
rum with a foolish woman

152
00:11:57,275 --> 00:11:59,342
who look African but act like a toubab?

153
00:11:59,377 --> 00:12:02,780
I want to travel inland
to a village called Bayo,

154
00:12:02,814 --> 00:12:05,582
three revolutions of the moon by foot,

155
00:12:05,616 --> 00:12:09,119
northeast, not far from
Segou on the Joliba River.

156
00:12:09,154 --> 00:12:11,288
I don't negotiate with toubab.

157
00:12:11,322 --> 00:12:14,624
I have a barrel of rum to trade.

158
00:12:14,659 --> 00:12:17,394
One thousand barrels of rum.

159
00:12:19,863 --> 00:12:24,033
One barrel of rum without
a drop of water in it.

160
00:12:24,068 --> 00:12:26,403
You negotiate like a man.

161
00:12:28,239 --> 00:12:32,008
We'll meet again.

162
00:12:32,042 --> 00:12:34,177
When?

163
00:12:34,211 --> 00:12:38,280
I return when I return.

164
00:12:38,315 --> 00:12:40,349
I'm known here.

165
00:12:40,383 --> 00:12:44,320
I am Alassane, the great Fula trader.

166
00:12:50,694 --> 00:12:52,994
I found a guide to take me home.

167
00:13:08,410 --> 00:13:11,446
I was there when you
were taken from your home.

168
00:13:11,480 --> 00:13:14,249
I shall be there when you return.

169
00:13:21,496 --> 00:13:22,707
Thanks for coming.

170
00:13:26,502 --> 00:13:29,204
I return to England in a fortnight.

171
00:13:29,239 --> 00:13:33,575
- No! The Nova Scotians will be devastated!
- It is time.

172
00:13:33,610 --> 00:13:35,877
Time for me to go.

173
00:13:35,911 --> 00:13:38,747
I don't wish to keep my
family waiting any longer.

174
00:13:38,781 --> 00:13:41,149
I understand.

175
00:13:41,183 --> 00:13:44,418
But I do have a proposal to make.

176
00:13:44,453 --> 00:13:48,823
You and Chekura should
come with me to England.

177
00:13:48,858 --> 00:13:52,293
Captain Clarkson, I've
only just come to Africa!

178
00:13:52,327 --> 00:13:55,029
- I can't leave now!
- But we need you.

179
00:13:55,064 --> 00:13:57,598
The abolitionist movement needs you.

180
00:13:57,633 --> 00:14:00,033
We need your story and we need your voice.

181
00:14:00,068 --> 00:14:04,305
The Quakers are trying to persuade
Parliament to abandon the slave trade.

182
00:14:04,339 --> 00:14:07,508
And by trade, I mean buying
slaves on the African coast,

183
00:14:07,542 --> 00:14:10,878
carrying them across the seas
and selling them in the Americas.

184
00:14:10,912 --> 00:14:14,214
It's a first step.
Slavery would still exist,

185
00:14:14,249 --> 00:14:18,051
but no more men, women and children
being taken away in slave ships.

186
00:14:18,086 --> 00:14:22,656
How... how... how could I possibly
help your cause in England?

187
00:14:22,690 --> 00:14:26,393
You've survived slavery.

188
00:14:26,427 --> 00:14:29,596
Your voice could move thousands of Britons.

189
00:14:29,630 --> 00:14:32,532
When the time comes for Parliament
to deliberate on the matter,

190
00:14:32,566 --> 00:14:35,101
your voice could swing the vote.

191
00:14:35,135 --> 00:14:37,437
Captain Clarkson, I...

192
00:14:37,471 --> 00:14:40,640
Call me John, please.

193
00:14:40,675 --> 00:14:43,643
John...

194
00:14:43,678 --> 00:14:46,245
like you,

195
00:14:46,280 --> 00:14:49,916
I must find my way home again.

196
00:14:49,950 --> 00:14:52,551
Well, you do know your own mind,

197
00:14:52,585 --> 00:14:54,586
Aminata.

198
00:14:57,858 --> 00:15:00,159
Well, best of British luck to you.

199
00:15:29,989 --> 00:15:31,357
Ah, Ismail!

200
00:15:31,358 --> 00:15:35,572
_

201
00:15:35,573 --> 00:15:43,205
_

202
00:15:43,206 --> 00:15:45,650
_

203
00:15:45,656 --> 00:15:47,522
- That's the man who killed Daddy Moses.
- _

204
00:15:47,523 --> 00:15:49,224
_

205
00:15:49,225 --> 00:15:52,356
_

206
00:15:52,357 --> 00:15:56,660
_

207
00:15:56,662 --> 00:15:59,750
- Look.
- As a child, I had believed

208
00:15:59,784 --> 00:16:03,553
that any decent adult would
not let any slave coffle pass

209
00:16:03,588 --> 00:16:07,191
- unmolested.
- Water! Water!

210
00:16:07,225 --> 00:16:09,359
Yet here I was.

211
00:16:16,434 --> 00:16:19,569
Here.

212
00:16:21,038 --> 00:16:23,440
Toubab woman!

213
00:16:23,474 --> 00:16:25,775
Do not feed her, or I shall
put you in this coffle.

214
00:16:25,809 --> 00:16:29,379
In that moment, I
understood that Chekura and I

215
00:16:29,413 --> 00:16:31,747
had to flee.

216
00:16:34,385 --> 00:16:37,120
I have to do something for
them. I can't stand by and watch.

217
00:16:37,154 --> 00:16:40,456
There are too many traders.

218
00:16:40,490 --> 00:16:44,026
I had to bring you to the ocean.

219
00:16:44,060 --> 00:16:46,395
I've lived with that my whole life.

220
00:16:46,430 --> 00:16:50,198
I have to help them. Especially the girl.

221
00:16:50,233 --> 00:16:53,335
There are only two guards
watching over the captives.

222
00:16:53,369 --> 00:16:57,039
The others drink. Your rum is very good.

223
00:16:57,073 --> 00:17:00,042
We'll wait till they're sleeping.
What if they see something?

224
00:17:02,045 --> 00:17:04,712
I have made my way by
many guards and mantraps.

225
00:17:04,747 --> 00:17:06,748
They won't see me.

226
00:17:16,792 --> 00:17:19,026
Okay, wait here.

227
00:17:19,061 --> 00:17:22,196
Let me get her, then we go.

228
00:17:39,114 --> 00:17:41,215
Shh...

229
00:17:46,188 --> 00:17:49,422
Go, go.

230
00:18:38,338 --> 00:18:40,339
Are they free?

231
00:18:42,475 --> 00:18:44,976
Yes.

232
00:18:45,011 --> 00:18:46,978
Yes, they are free.

233
00:18:47,013 --> 00:18:49,548
Good.

234
00:18:49,582 --> 00:18:53,152
Okay. Now go.

235
00:18:53,186 --> 00:18:56,320
- No.
- Go.

236
00:18:56,355 --> 00:18:59,223
No. No, I won't leave you alone.

237
00:18:59,258 --> 00:19:01,860
I won't leave you alone!

238
00:19:01,894 --> 00:19:04,495
Say my name.

239
00:19:09,435 --> 00:19:12,370
My Chekura.

240
00:19:14,440 --> 00:19:18,876
My Chekura Tiano.

241
00:19:21,913 --> 00:19:26,050
Now go, Aminata Diallo.

242
00:19:26,085 --> 00:19:28,986
Save the girl.

243
00:20:15,265 --> 00:20:19,535
Come on! Go on!

244
00:20:19,569 --> 00:20:21,803
Come!

245
00:20:39,856 --> 00:20:44,126
Go! Go on!

246
00:21:30,705 --> 00:21:32,673
Find your way home,

247
00:21:32,707 --> 00:21:35,375
Aminata.

248
00:22:44,276 --> 00:22:46,171
_

249
00:23:08,872 --> 00:23:11,537
_

250
00:23:14,138 --> 00:23:16,347
_

251
00:23:33,057 --> 00:23:37,935
_

252
00:23:38,136 --> 00:23:43,700
_

253
00:23:44,501 --> 00:23:47,070
_

254
00:23:47,286 --> 00:23:51,289
daughter of Mamadu
Diallo and Sira Kulibali.

255
00:23:51,323 --> 00:23:55,660
I have been across the big river.

256
00:23:55,694 --> 00:23:58,429
And now I am back.

257
00:24:00,069 --> 00:24:02,904
And why did you love a man
who helped steal you away?

258
00:24:02,938 --> 00:24:05,806
At the time, he was a very young boy.

259
00:24:07,809 --> 00:24:10,811
When we became older, we
came to love each other.

260
00:24:10,846 --> 00:24:13,247
And you say you lost him too?

261
00:24:13,281 --> 00:24:16,150
I have lost...

262
00:24:16,184 --> 00:24:19,953
and found him so many times.

263
00:24:26,961 --> 00:24:29,996
But now I have lost him forever.

264
00:24:40,340 --> 00:24:44,878
Since my childhood, I had hoped
every day to return to Bayo.

265
00:24:47,181 --> 00:24:49,549
The men and women who saved my life

266
00:24:49,584 --> 00:24:52,651
and protected me in their
village in Sierra Leone

267
00:24:52,686 --> 00:24:56,822
brought me as close as I would
ever get to my earliest home.

268
00:24:59,126 --> 00:25:03,796
But from this point on,
home would not be a place.

269
00:25:07,734 --> 00:25:09,868
Home would be

270
00:25:09,903 --> 00:25:12,104
what I would do with

271
00:25:12,138 --> 00:25:15,373
and for my people.

272
00:25:30,703 --> 00:25:33,705
Welcome. Welcome.

273
00:25:35,708 --> 00:25:37,676
Hello, John.

274
00:25:37,710 --> 00:25:40,445
Hello, Aminata.

275
00:25:40,479 --> 00:25:42,513
You made the crossing.

276
00:25:42,547 --> 00:25:45,549
It will be my last.

277
00:25:49,822 --> 00:25:52,256
Now, abolitionists

278
00:25:52,291 --> 00:25:54,725
can be very enthusiastic men,

279
00:25:54,759 --> 00:25:57,428
so don't let them touch you too much.

280
00:26:00,832 --> 00:26:03,934
Gentlemen.

281
00:26:03,968 --> 00:26:08,038
May I present Miss Aminata
Diallo? She's journeyed a long way

282
00:26:08,072 --> 00:26:11,775
- to join our court.
- Welcome! Miss Diallo, it's lovely

283
00:26:11,810 --> 00:26:14,211
to finally make your
acquaintance. I'm Stanley Hastings.

284
00:26:14,245 --> 00:26:17,914
- Likewise, sir.
- I must say your story is remarkable.

285
00:26:18,248 --> 00:26:21,351
It'll be a powerful weapon in
our fight to end the slave trade.

286
00:26:21,385 --> 00:26:24,120
With delicacy and all meticulous care,

287
00:26:24,155 --> 00:26:27,290
we will interview you and write
a short account of your life,

288
00:26:27,325 --> 00:26:29,425
including the abuses you
suffered in the slave trade.

289
00:26:29,460 --> 00:26:31,794
You want to write

290
00:26:31,829 --> 00:26:34,464
- an account of my life?
- Miss Diallo,

291
00:26:34,498 --> 00:26:38,100
William Wilberforce. It is very important.

292
00:26:38,134 --> 00:26:40,803
We need to arrange the account just so.

293
00:26:40,838 --> 00:26:43,573
The slightest inaccuracy or inattention

294
00:26:43,607 --> 00:26:47,676
to detail may prove... fatal to our cause.

295
00:26:52,349 --> 00:26:55,751
Got her.

296
00:26:55,785 --> 00:26:58,120
- Are you all right?
- Of course she isn't.

297
00:26:58,154 --> 00:27:00,822
I told you that this meeting was premature.

298
00:27:00,857 --> 00:27:04,760
And she will not face this committee again
until she's given opportunity to recover.

299
00:27:12,368 --> 00:27:15,637
It's open.

300
00:27:23,379 --> 00:27:26,981
Good morning. What day is it?

301
00:27:37,225 --> 00:27:40,661
May we have a word, sir?

302
00:27:40,695 --> 00:27:43,330
Excuse me, madam, I was just on my way out.

303
00:27:43,364 --> 00:27:46,834
- Why are you always avoiding me?
- No desire to offend.

304
00:27:46,868 --> 00:27:50,003
You never stop to answer my questions.

305
00:27:52,240 --> 00:27:54,674
It's just my orders, that's all.

306
00:27:54,708 --> 00:27:58,478
- Orders?
- Mr. Clarkson asked me not to speak with you.

307
00:27:58,512 --> 00:28:01,181
- Why?
- You're to be allowed to regain your health

308
00:28:01,215 --> 00:28:04,784
and prepare your statement for the
abolitionist committee without any interference.

309
00:28:04,819 --> 00:28:08,055
- Interference?
- From the blacks of London.

310
00:28:08,089 --> 00:28:10,990
They want your story to be pure.

311
00:28:11,024 --> 00:28:14,861
"Straight from Africa" was what Mr.
Clarkson said. And the committee men,

312
00:28:14,895 --> 00:28:17,369
they don't want Londoners
saying that the blacks of London

313
00:28:17,370 --> 00:28:19,460
helped you to make up your story.

314
00:28:22,436 --> 00:28:26,172
Dante, I do not wish to get you in trouble,

315
00:28:26,206 --> 00:28:28,841
but are there many of us?

316
00:28:32,446 --> 00:28:36,782
Thousands. Thousands.

317
00:28:39,886 --> 00:28:42,721
Thousands. Thank you.

318
00:28:48,895 --> 00:28:51,320
We are pleased that Miss
Diallo has regained her health.

319
00:28:51,321 --> 00:28:52,321
Hear, hear!

320
00:28:52,364 --> 00:28:56,401
Thank you, gentlemen. Thank
you. My heart will not give out,

321
00:28:56,435 --> 00:28:58,937
at least not before I face your Parliament,

322
00:28:58,972 --> 00:29:01,272
so please, please, please sit.

323
00:29:01,307 --> 00:29:04,842
Sit.

324
00:29:04,877 --> 00:29:06,844
As your confederate

325
00:29:06,879 --> 00:29:10,882
in the struggle to end the slave trade,

326
00:29:10,916 --> 00:29:13,551
I have decided...

327
00:29:13,585 --> 00:29:17,588
I will write the story of my life.

328
00:29:20,225 --> 00:29:24,962
Certainly, but you will require
our guidance to ensure that...

329
00:29:24,997 --> 00:29:28,566
Without guidance, thank you
very much. My life, my words,

330
00:29:28,600 --> 00:29:31,936
my pen. I am capable of writing.

331
00:29:31,970 --> 00:29:35,272
Miss Diallo, it is not a
question of your literacy,

332
00:29:35,306 --> 00:29:38,275
but rather an issue of
ensuring authenticity.

333
00:29:38,309 --> 00:29:42,812
That is precisely why nobody
must tell my story but me.

334
00:29:42,847 --> 00:29:46,483
I will begin immediately,

335
00:29:46,518 --> 00:29:51,087
provided that no one interferes
with my right to speak

336
00:29:51,121 --> 00:29:55,425
to any person, Dante, John
Clarkson's butler, included.

337
00:29:55,459 --> 00:29:59,930
I want you to know that it was not my plan
to prevent you from getting to know Dante.

338
00:29:59,964 --> 00:30:02,699
Blame me if you like, but please understand

339
00:30:02,733 --> 00:30:05,334
there can be no whiff of suggestion

340
00:30:05,369 --> 00:30:08,471
that your story has been
influenced by the blacks of London.

341
00:30:08,505 --> 00:30:13,309
This could cause great
damage. If I give my account

342
00:30:13,343 --> 00:30:16,279
and I will give all of it...

343
00:30:16,313 --> 00:30:18,914
it will be on my terms,

344
00:30:18,949 --> 00:30:21,350
and my terms only.

345
00:30:29,607 --> 00:30:31,575
Ready?

346
00:30:45,389 --> 00:30:48,524
Gentlemen, we are gathered
to hear the testimony

347
00:30:48,559 --> 00:30:51,194
of Miss Diallo. If you please,

348
00:30:51,229 --> 00:30:55,365
Miss Diallo, would you give the committee

349
00:30:55,399 --> 00:30:58,033
an account of your life?

350
00:30:58,068 --> 00:31:00,936
I am Aminata Diallo,

351
00:31:00,971 --> 00:31:04,841
daughter of Mamadu
Diallo and Sira Kulibali.

352
00:31:04,875 --> 00:31:07,943
I was born in a village called Bayo,

353
00:31:07,978 --> 00:31:10,580
in what you call Guinea.

354
00:31:10,614 --> 00:31:14,383
Miss Diallo, what do you
say to earlier testimony

355
00:31:14,417 --> 00:31:18,653
that men and women were
not branded in factories

356
00:31:18,688 --> 00:31:21,991
- on the coast of Africa?
- It's not true.

357
00:31:22,025 --> 00:31:25,560
I was branded in 1761 on Bance Island,

358
00:31:25,595 --> 00:31:27,596
off the coast of Sierra Leone.

359
00:31:31,300 --> 00:31:34,669
If it is not too indelicate,

360
00:31:34,704 --> 00:31:37,773
may the committee hear
how you were branded?

361
00:31:37,807 --> 00:31:40,008
Hot iron

362
00:31:40,042 --> 00:31:42,010
was pressed into my flesh

363
00:31:42,044 --> 00:31:45,213
above my right breast. Am
I required to show it, sir?

364
00:31:45,247 --> 00:31:48,883
That will not be necessary.
You are under oath.

365
00:31:48,918 --> 00:31:52,086
Would the distinguished
gentlemen from Yorkshire

366
00:31:52,121 --> 00:31:54,822
yield the floor and allow
a word with the witness?

367
00:31:54,956 --> 00:31:57,458
The floor is yours, sir.

368
00:32:00,963 --> 00:32:06,133
I must say, Miss Diallo, your tale
of woe shows you to have great virtue.

369
00:32:06,167 --> 00:32:09,470
Survival has nothing to do with virtue.

370
00:32:09,504 --> 00:32:13,474
I'm referring to your dignity and courage

371
00:32:13,508 --> 00:32:16,644
in the face of such unspeakable peril.

372
00:32:16,678 --> 00:32:19,179
Marauding savages,

373
00:32:19,213 --> 00:32:22,449
hungry wolves...

374
00:32:22,483 --> 00:32:25,193
All that's missing from your
tale is a plague of locusts!

375
00:32:26,554 --> 00:32:29,689
Gentlemen, gentlemen, Miss
Diallo is before this committee

376
00:32:29,723 --> 00:32:32,059
- giving testimony as a witness...
- Miss Diallo,

377
00:32:32,093 --> 00:32:35,829
are you to have us believe
an uneducated African woman

378
00:32:35,863 --> 00:32:38,665
wrote an autobiography
without any ghostwriting

379
00:32:38,699 --> 00:32:41,100
or coaching from the interested party?

380
00:32:42,670 --> 00:32:44,170
Sir,

381
00:32:44,204 --> 00:32:47,373
I admit the prose is a bit flowery,

382
00:32:47,457 --> 00:32:50,527
but every word,

383
00:32:50,561 --> 00:32:53,729
every word is my own.

384
00:32:59,436 --> 00:33:01,437
I see.

385
00:33:05,442 --> 00:33:09,745
Oh! Since you wrote this entire account,

386
00:33:09,779 --> 00:33:12,881
might you be able to spell 'Deuteronomy'?

387
00:33:12,916 --> 00:33:17,052
- It does appear in your book.
- Gentlemen, this is hardly the time

388
00:33:17,086 --> 00:33:20,822
for a spelling test, it's...
it's a disgrace! I mean...

389
00:33:20,857 --> 00:33:25,093
D-e-u-t...

390
00:33:25,127 --> 00:33:27,462
e-r-o...

391
00:33:27,496 --> 00:33:30,731
n-o-m-y.

392
00:33:30,766 --> 00:33:33,101
I am happy to help, sir.

393
00:33:33,135 --> 00:33:35,736
Shall I assist with 'Leviticus' too?

394
00:33:39,007 --> 00:33:43,410
I relinquish my time, sir.

395
00:33:47,082 --> 00:33:50,217
Continue with your testimony, Miss Diallo.

396
00:33:53,889 --> 00:33:56,757
I knew from a young age

397
00:33:56,792 --> 00:34:00,994
I would be a djeli, a storyteller.

398
00:34:01,028 --> 00:34:04,164
I would see

399
00:34:04,199 --> 00:34:08,168
and I would remember.

400
00:34:12,574 --> 00:34:14,174
Thank you.

401
00:34:31,025 --> 00:34:35,628
The abolitionists had been trying for
twenty years to end the slave trade.

402
00:34:35,662 --> 00:34:39,132
But this time, they say they can do it.

403
00:34:39,166 --> 00:34:42,368
This time, they believe they can prevail.

404
00:34:42,402 --> 00:34:45,571
- Who are they here to see?
- You.

405
00:34:45,606 --> 00:34:48,441
You are a self-taught woman,

406
00:34:48,475 --> 00:34:51,010
a former slave and a survivor.

407
00:34:51,044 --> 00:34:53,378
All the people speak of you.

408
00:34:53,412 --> 00:34:56,381
You will win the vote today, we
will not fail. We cannot fail.

409
00:34:56,415 --> 00:34:59,451
Yes. Who are you?

410
00:34:59,485 --> 00:35:01,920
And finally,

411
00:35:01,955 --> 00:35:06,024
gentlemen, you may choose
to look the other way,

412
00:35:06,058 --> 00:35:08,527
but you can never again say

413
00:35:08,561 --> 00:35:11,196
that you did not know.

414
00:35:11,230 --> 00:35:13,198
Let us consider that,

415
00:35:13,232 --> 00:35:15,233
if our colonies

416
00:35:15,268 --> 00:35:19,471
are to be cultivated, which can
only be done by African Negroes,

417
00:35:19,505 --> 00:35:22,239
it is surely better to supply ourselves

418
00:35:22,274 --> 00:35:25,543
with those laborers in British ships

419
00:35:25,577 --> 00:35:28,680
than buy them from French, Dutch or...

420
00:35:28,714 --> 00:35:30,682
Wait!

421
00:35:30,716 --> 00:35:32,917
Do you not want to hear the final vote?

422
00:35:32,951 --> 00:35:35,219
We will know soon enough.

423
00:35:35,253 --> 00:35:38,089
I will hear the results outside.

424
00:35:53,116 --> 00:35:56,455
- You came.
- I've been waiting for this moment

425
00:35:56,456 --> 00:35:59,987
- my entire life.
- Yes.

426
00:36:00,021 --> 00:36:02,457
We will see.

427
00:36:18,775 --> 00:36:22,244
The anti-slave trade bill... passed!

428
00:36:26,448 --> 00:36:28,048
283 to 16.

429
00:36:42,778 --> 00:36:45,245
Thank you. Thank you.

430
00:37:01,161 --> 00:37:04,130
Come in.

431
00:37:08,302 --> 00:37:11,905
When we first met, I
promised you a map of Africa.

432
00:37:17,304 --> 00:37:19,639
See...

433
00:37:23,143 --> 00:37:25,611
This...

434
00:37:25,646 --> 00:37:28,648
is the most accurate to date.

435
00:37:35,785 --> 00:37:38,720
And I suspect that you were
born somewhere close to here,

436
00:37:38,954 --> 00:37:42,424
on that river.

437
00:37:53,201 --> 00:37:55,436
Thank you.

438
00:38:36,544 --> 00:38:38,644
Sir!

439
00:38:41,715 --> 00:38:43,716
Sir!

440
00:38:43,750 --> 00:38:45,751
Sir, a word!

441
00:38:49,056 --> 00:38:52,357
Sir, may I have a word?

442
00:38:52,392 --> 00:38:54,193
Please!

443
00:38:54,227 --> 00:38:57,229
Sir!

444
00:39:27,827 --> 00:39:29,794
I came to London to find you.

445
00:39:29,829 --> 00:39:32,696
I saw you yesterday.

446
00:39:35,300 --> 00:39:37,568
Your name is Aminata Diallo.

447
00:39:39,571 --> 00:39:42,273
Daughter of Mamadu
Diallo and Sira Kulibali,

448
00:39:42,307 --> 00:39:44,609
born in the village of Bayo

449
00:39:44,643 --> 00:39:47,444
and brought in captivity
to St. Helena Island.

450
00:39:50,782 --> 00:39:53,817
Where you had me,

451
00:39:53,852 --> 00:39:56,153
until I was taken from you.

452
00:40:01,092 --> 00:40:03,093
Are you May?

453
00:40:05,095 --> 00:40:07,230
Are you May?

454
00:40:07,265 --> 00:40:09,232
I'm May.

455
00:40:09,267 --> 00:40:12,802
I'm May.

456
00:40:23,814 --> 00:40:26,448
My name is May.

457
00:40:26,483 --> 00:40:29,819
- I named you that!
- My name is May Diallo.

458
00:40:32,422 --> 00:40:34,623
I'm told by Solomon Lindo

459
00:40:34,658 --> 00:40:37,125
that I was born in 1773

460
00:40:37,160 --> 00:40:41,063
- on Appleby's indigo plantation in South Carolina.
- Yes! Yes!

461
00:40:41,097 --> 00:40:44,600
To Chekura Tiano...

462
00:40:44,634 --> 00:40:47,303
and Aminata Diallo.

463
00:40:55,111 --> 00:40:58,246
Solomon Lindo...

464
00:41:02,852 --> 00:41:05,653
Thank you.

465
00:41:07,656 --> 00:41:09,990
Goodbye, Aminata.

466
00:41:15,397 --> 00:41:18,132
Mr. Lindo found me.

467
00:41:20,009 --> 00:41:24,245
He said that for the longest
time, he believed I was dead.

468
00:41:24,280 --> 00:41:27,281
But once he found out that wasn't true...

469
00:41:29,551 --> 00:41:32,286
He spent much time searching for me.

470
00:41:40,963 --> 00:41:44,298
You too have crossed the big river.

471
00:41:48,169 --> 00:41:50,637
Oh...

472
00:42:02,349 --> 00:42:04,885
Every day, in London,

473
00:42:04,919 --> 00:42:08,922
I dip my quill in ink to
become a new kind of djeli,

474
00:42:08,956 --> 00:42:12,058
a djeli for readers on
both sides of the big river.

475
00:42:17,631 --> 00:42:21,334
We have finally abolished
the trading of men.

476
00:42:21,368 --> 00:42:24,370
But we still have long road to walk.

477
00:42:25,472 --> 00:42:28,908
We must still abolish slavery itself.

478
00:42:33,379 --> 00:42:37,315
Our stories are so much
more than adventure tales.

479
00:42:37,350 --> 00:42:39,919
They are cries for truth,

480
00:42:39,953 --> 00:42:44,356
justice and freedom. Even tales of loss

481
00:42:44,390 --> 00:42:47,059
and hardship give us courage

482
00:42:47,093 --> 00:42:50,328
and open up the doors of love.

483
00:42:53,500 --> 00:42:55,622
It is a miracle that I
should live long enough

484
00:42:55,687 --> 00:43:00,057
to carry on my work as a
djeli, so that my own stories

485
00:43:01,391 --> 00:43:02,695
can outlive me.

486
00:43:02,900 --> 00:43:09,183
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